THE VOTER March 2010
LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF ADAMS COUNTY www.lwvadamscounty.org
Meeting Locations: GANDER MTN. in the THORNTON TOWN CENTER,
Marge Innes- Phone contact: 303-327-3235
Board Meetings: The dates are noted on the calendar. Members are invited to attend.
Please be aware of possible changes in meeting times or places and special events. Changes will appear on this calendar and/or on the website. An attempt will be made to contact all members.
Please call one of the above members for information, directions or a ride.
Monday March 8, 7:00 p.m. Water on the FrontRangeOur speaker will be Mark Koleber. He is employed by the City of Thornton as Water Supply Director. He deals with water rights, water supplies, and developing reservoirs and has oversight over the 2 water treatment plants for the city, one of which we will be touring on March 22. Bring your water questions for him.Monday, March 22, 10:00 a.m. Tour of the Thornton Water Treatment Plant This state-of-the art facility is located at 88th and Colorado Blvd. The tour will begin at 10:00AM and last 1 1/2- 2 hrs. Please join us for what should be a most interesting and informative morning. Questions? Call Alice Cleary 303-920-1210.Monday, April 12, 7:00 p.m. Annual Meeting Please bring slate of officers and proposed budget with you. These will be found in this newsletter.Monday, April 26a.m. Home Rule Mr. Bueche is retired from the City of Thornton and is a past president of the Municipal League. He will conduct a conversation about "home rule": what it means to be a home rule city, the number of home rule cities in CO, how home rule is established, the benefits of being a home rule city, what guidelines home rule cities must follow with regard to State and Federal laws/regulations, etc.
Marge’s Musings Marge InnesWhat is water? It is the only natural resource with automatic renewal. After falling from clouds as rain or snow, it may run into streams or lakes or soak into the ground. Eventually it will evaporate to form clouds again and so continues the cycle forever.Long before Europeans came to the Western Hemisphere, water played a key role in the story of this semi-arid region ( Colorado). Evidence indicates that an ancient irrigation system found at Mesa Verde may have been in use by 1000 A. D. or even earlier. The Anasazi who lived there were able to grow maize, beans, and squash by building systems of check dams and farming terraces to conserve the scanty water supply. And although they were apparently skilled in the management of both soil and water, it is thought the mysterious disappearance of the Cliff Dwellers in the 13th century may have been due to extended drought.
In 1803, the youthful United States nearly doubled its area by purchasing the LouisianaTerritory from France. Much of the newly acquired land was unmapped. When Indians told of shining mountains far to the west, their glitter seemed to promise mineral wealth. But the snow atop the high peaks yielded greater riches, for it was the source of the mountain streams which feed the great rivers of the west. Colorado has been called the Mother of Rivers, for here are born the headwaters of the Platte and the Arkansas, the Rio Grande and the mighty Colorado. UPCOMING EVENT Pat Campbell Save this date Saturday June 12th, 2010 6:30 pm. Our Wine Tasting Evening is back. Again we will be having our fund raiser at Spero Winery.Clyde Spero is ready to offer us tasting of some wonderful wines and June Spero will be preparing us a fantastic buffet supper. The price is $35.00 a person our League will get $10.00 to put toward our local activities and League expenses. Invite family and friends to join you and support this fun event. Call Shirley Mrochek, 303-452-0598 with your reservations and mail your checks directly to Shirley at 10781 Wanda Lane, Northglenn, Co. 80234. Invitations will be in the next Voter. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.
Hi all, From Alice Ramsey; Colorado LWV President You probably already have the info about the LWVCO’s celebration of League’s 90th Birthday on March 15th at the capitol from 8-10am, 1st floor north end (the Colfax entrance). We have issued invitations to all the legislators and the Governor, Lt. Gov, Treasurer, AG, and Sec’y of State. We have several legislators who are league members who are sponsoring a resolution for us that day on the floor of the legislature. If you have time come down and join us and meet your legislator.
Immigration Issues Focus of Film and Discussion The League of Women Voters of Denver invites you to an informative evening focused on immigration issues Thursday, March 18, at the Starz Film Center in downtown Denver. ?Swift Justice,? a documentary about the federal raid in 2006 on the Swift plant in Greeley, will be shown at 7:00 p.m., followed by a discussion led by two immigration attorneys. Christina Fiflis and Ann Allott are members of The American Immigration Lawyers Association. Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency led the raids on the Greeley facility and Swift plants in six other states. The results included the arrest of more than 1,200 people on charges of illegal immigration and identity theft. In Greeley, 262 people were arrested. The events are retold in the documentary that was a highlight of the Denver Film Festival last year. The doors will open at 6:00 p.m. for a reception with appetizers and a cash bar in the Starz Film Center, Studio A, 900 Auraria Parkway. Ample free parking is available, but theater seating is limited to 160. The tickets will be available at the door, $15 dollars regular admission, $12 for league members and film society members.
Also – from Alice The League of Women Voters is moderating an open debate “Should Colorado Prosecutors Retain the Power to Charge Juveniles as Adults?” This event takes place at University of Denver Sturm College of Law, 2255 E. Evans Avenue, Denver, CO 80202, Room #165. This takes place on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 5p.m. The debaters are Kim Dvorchak (Attorney, Colorado Juvenile Defender coalition) and Don Quick (District Attorney for the Seventeenth Judicial District). For further information please contact Mary Ellen Johnson: marryellen@pendulumfoundation.com or call 720-314-1420Sustainability: Part three of the Colorado Interfaith Power & Light climate change and faith conference on Nov, 13-14, 2009 at Spirit of Christ Catholic Community, Arvada.
Reported on by Judy Nicholaisen.
The Conference offered 16 different workshops and time only to go to 4 different workshops. I chose – The Food Connection, Story of Stuff, Congregational Green Groups Panel, Home Energy Efficiency.
The Food Connection was led by Michael Brownlee (the Food Connection, Transition Town Movement) Co-founder of Transition Colorado and a long-time catalyst for re-localization. A founding member of the Boulder County Food and Agriculture Policy Council, he is also a board member of Transition U. S. and a certified Transition Trainer. His organization has nurtured over 20 Transition Initiatives in Colorado. He talked about Transition Boulder being a grassroots organization working to increase the resilience and self-reliance of communities in and around the city of Boulder as a response the challenges of Global Climate Change and Peak Oil. We're doing this my tapping into the collective intelligence and creativity of the community to plan for energy descent.
The Transition approach empowers communities to squarely face the challenges of peak oil and climate change, and to unleash the collective genius of their own people to find the answers to this momentous question:
For all those aspects of life that this community needs in order to sustain itself and thrive, how are we going to: · drastically reduce carbon emissions (in response to climate change); · significantly rebuild resilience (in response to peak oil); · and greatly strengthen our local economy (in response to economic instability)? |
Brownlee also talked about two different farmers in Boulder – One growing genetically modified organism (GMO) sugar beets on several acres of land. They grow only one crop, have one big tractor and no employees – Just the owner and son work the fields. The other example is an organic farm on about two acres growing lots of different kinds vegetables because the soil is not depleted. The organic farm employs around 50 workers. His point is we can reclaim and have farmers return to the land and grow local creating healthy foods and saving energy. The Story of Stuff was led by Vicente Rodan. From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever. I recommend that you watch this video http://www.storyofstuff.com/
Congregational Green Groups panel-what congregations are doing led by Peter Sawtell. Four different area churches told what their churches are doing in the Green movement. This included adding solar panels, selling light bulbs, growing a cutting garden, compost piles, collecting empty cans, doing away with Styrofoam, using paper plates & recyclable utensils, separating garbage (recyclable from waste), having lights turn off automatic if no one is in the room. Home Energy Efficiency-tighten up your home, cut CO2 and save money lead by Nancy Kellogg. She passed out the Home Performance with Energy Star by Excel booklet talking about doing a Home Energy Audit. There are two different kinds of audits, Blower Door ($90) or Infrared ($120). Also, you can earn $640 or more in rebates by doing some required and optional improvements. She also passed out the 60 simple ways to save money on your energy bill by Excel Energy2010 CENSUS
Our Census project is finally finished. We partnered with the Census Bureau in the fall to help get the word out about the importance of completing the Census form and sending it back. We distributed 1200 canvas bags to several area food banks. In doing so, we learned a lot about the Census and also a bonus, we learned a lot about the various people who volunteer at these food banks.
They are dedicated people who do a wonderful job and they receive something from helping others. I say thanks to them and thanks to all who helped distribute the bags.
Thank you Cathy O’Grady, Marge Innes, Alice Cleary, Dorothy Mayer, Beth Humenik. Also, a big thank you to all of you who helped stuff 400 bags after the movie on Monday.
Shirley Mrochek
Mission Statement
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
Dues are $48 per year, pro-rated after January 1stto September 15th. This covers the cost of our local League’s pledge to the National LWVUS and its publication “The Voter” issued 4 times a year plus the state League and its publication “Colorado Voter” (published quarterly). The financial support of our local league activities, including the newsletter and other publications, registration for workshops and special projects, comes from member donations above the $48.00 level. We appreciate any donations in excess of the dues. Thank you for your consideration. Dues levels are as follows:
Friend $48.00 (basic dues) Sustaining $75.00
Supporting $60.00 Advocate $100.00
Checks may be made payable to LWV of Adams County and mailed to: SHIRLEY MROCHEK, TREASURER, 10781 WANDA LANE, NORTHGLENN, CO 80234
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Margaret Stuvel, Voter Editor
LWV of AdamsCounty